Ross MacKinnon: 12 years as dean

When he came to UConn in 1996 from the State University of New York at Buffalo , where he had been dean of the social sciences for 14 years, Ross MacKinnon's office as the new dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences was in Wood Hall, one of the older buildings on campus.

Ross MacKinnon with Francoise Dussart, professor of anthropology and women's studies

Wood Hall was built in 1940, the year that UConn's Division of Arts and Sciences became the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and its brick facade and wood paneling evoked images of college life in an earlier era.

Over the next 12 years the campus's appearance was dramatically transformed by the UConn 2000 program. And CLAS, under MacKinnon's leadership, added more than four new buildings, grew in external support, recruited renowned scholars, and developed support services for faculty and students in advising, budgeting, information technology, and fundraising.

"MacKinnon has blended leadership and stewardship in an exemplary manner. These, surely are the qualities of an outstanding dean," says Richard D. Brown, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of History and director, UConn Humanities Institute.

MacKinnon and Richard Brown, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of History

"His work has substantially aided UConn's rapid transformation from the flagship state university to a university of high national ranking and stature," says Lynn Z. Bloom, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of English and Aetna Chair of Writing.

When MacKinnon entered as dean, Bloom's was one of two endowed faculty chairs in the College. Since then, faculty chairs and endowed professorships have been established in history, chemistry, Judaic Studies, human rights, political science, and English.

The College's endowment, $3.7 million when he became dean, has grown to more than $28 million.

Scholarship support grew, fellowship funds for graduate students were established, and the dean's office increased summer research support for both graduate and undergraduate students.

A strategic plan for the College is now in place, and interdisciplinary research has been fostered and supported with funding from the dean's office. The Human Rights Institute, the UConn Humanities Institute, and the Center for Health, Intervention, and Prevention (CHIIP), which had its start in CLAS, have developed into major centers of scholarship and research at the University.

Start-up and recruitment packages have enabled the College to recruit top scholars and researchers.

"We have been very lucky to have a dean with vision and foresight, who has been willing to cultivate emerging interdisciplinary programs when there were many other demands on his time and resources from existing programs and departments," says Richard Wilson, Gladstein Distinguished Chair in Human Rights, director of the Human Rights Institute, and professor of anthropology.

The list of accomplishments is long, and they have been achieved during a time of burgeoning undergraduate enrollment and an early retirement program that reduced the College's faculty levels by 10 percent.

MacKinnon, center, with (l to r) Timothy Killeen, former associate dean of CLAS; Antonio Romano, former dean; and former associate deans Paul Goodwin and Ronald Growney.

"To be disciplined on the budget but not simultaneously discouraging is a very difficult challenge, but one that Ross MacKinnon has achieved year after year," says Brown.

The dean's legacy is furthering the scholarly mission of the College, according to faculty.

"His critical role in establishing the Humanities Institute, the Human Rights Institute, and the new Social Science Research Initiative are among his greatest and most lasting contributions to the College and the University," says Howard Reiter, professor and department head of political science.

" Ross MacKinnon has throughout his deanship been a good friend to the humanities," says Bloom. "In an era of scarce external support, Humanities Institute fellowships for UConn faculty and grad students, and for visiting faculty, provide a lifeboat to keep valuable research afloat."

From MacKinnon's own point of view, his tenure as dean provided an opportunity to expand his responsibilities from the social sciences to the sciences and humanities as well.

The highlight of his work has been the people on campus.

"The most interesting part of the job is interacting with smart people," he says. "And UConn has a lot that I've enjoyed working with."

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